Flu season arrives two weeks early

There are growing signs that this flu season will be harder on
area residents than the last one was, state and regional health
officials say.

Tacey Derenzy, spokeswoman for the California Department of
Health Services, said Thursday that influenza has arrived about two
weeks earlier than it did during the winter of 2004-05, and as of
this week had spread through the southern, northern and central
parts of the state.

State laboratories have confirmed flu cases in 27 of
California's 58 counties, including Riverside and San Diego,
Derenzy said. For the second week in a row, San Diego led all
counties in reporting 168 of the state's 496 newly confirmed cases
this week. Far fewer cases have been confirmed in Riverside County,
but that hardly means the flu has taken a leave of absence.

"We are starting to see an increase in influenza activity," said
Barbara Cole, director of disease control for the Riverside County
Department of Public Health.

At clinics, doctor's offices and hospitals that the county
regularly monitors to track health trends, 5 percent to 14 percent
of people walking through the doors are reporting flu-like
symptoms, Cole said in an interview earlier this week.

Operators of Southwest County's two major hospitals say the
sharp uptick in flu was the driving force behind this week's
all-time record for emergency room visits the day after
Christmas.

"In fact, on Monday we had a record-breaking day," Fleege said.
"We saw a third more patients than we normally do between our two
emergency rooms. On any normal day, which is pretty busy, we see
200 patients. We saw 302 on Monday."

Those visits included 155 at Inland Valley and 147 at Rancho
Springs, she said, adding that one-third of the patients complained
of flulike symptoms.

"We're seeing it a little earlier this year than we did last
year, when we had a mild flu season," Fleege said. "Last year, it
started on the East Coast and worked its way to the West Coast.
This year, it is starting on the West Coast and is working its way
east."

In addition to having spread early through much of California,
the flu is widespread in Utah, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention report. Meanwhile, substantial numbers of cases have
been reported in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska and
Kansas.

Besides arriving early on the West Coast, flu is showing up
mostly in a strain of type A influenza virus, Derenzy said.

That is both good and bad.

"The A strain tends to be a little harsher than the B strain on
folks," Derenzy said, and so people could get sicker for longer
periods. On the other hand, this winter's vaccine is designed
specifically for a strain of A virus and those who receive flu
shots should be well protected, she said.

Now that the flu is here, health officials say, there is no
reason to put off protecting one's self.

"It's out there and people need to be aware of it," Derenzy
said. "Get your shot, get your vaccine. There is still time.
Generally, the flu season peaks in January and lasts as long as
March."

Unlike in late 2004, when the closure of a manufacturing plant
in England cut the U.S. supply in half and triggered long lines at
vaccination clinics, there is plenty vaccine to go around,
officials say.

"We're not as strapped as we were last year," said Lillie
Murvine, nurse manager for the county-operated Lake Elsinore Family
Health Center.

Cole said Riverside County distributed 10,000 doses to people at
high risk of experiencing complications from the flu. The doses
were distributed at community clinics and the county's nine
regional health centers, including the one in Lake Elsinore, and
more vaccine is available. In accordance with federal guidelines,
shots are being given to those 60 and older, younger people with
chronic health problems, and babies 6 months to 23 months old, she
said.

Others should contact their regular doctors, Cole said.

Meanwhile, everyone should take preventive measures. Health
officials urge people to stay home when sick, drink plenty of
fluids, get lots of rest, wash hands often and cover mouths when
they sneeze and cough.

And, said Derenzy, "We recommend that people sneeze into a
sleeve instead of into a hand." That's because sneezing and
coughing is the main way the disease is spread, and hands tend to
touch objects that others touch, health officials say.

Flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza
viruses. It can be mild to severe, and in extreme cases can lead to
death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
on average more than 200,000 Americans a year are hospitalized by
the flu, and 36,000 die.